Dedicated to
my brother, my hero,
whose fate in the jungles of South Vietnam
I have finally been able to lay to rest.

His memory will live on throughout my life and through all those who visit this site. He rests among the brave soldiers, sailors and airmen who fought the battle for freedom and gave their all for our great nation. For us who continue the fight for freedom around the globe today, may we remember their sacrifice and the courage they had in the face of the enemy.

We were at pilot training at Reese AFB in Texas in the year of 1967 and graduated in 1968. Fred and I really worked hard and ended up in the top of the class. There was just one F-105 and one F-4 front seat available, although of course there were a lot of other planes. We were in the first class to get an F-4 front seat and I requested it and Fred took the F-105. An instructor of mine asked me later in the day when he found out I took the F-4 and he really worked me over as he said the "Thud" or better known as the F-105 was the plane to take, he said it was a lot tougher machine and took a lot of hits but still flew where the F-4 was not as strong. That is what he said so I asked Fred that afternoon if he was willing to trade and he can take the F-4 and I would like the Thud so the next morning we went to the school secretary's office and swapped back with no problem. So I went to F-105 training at McConnel AFB, Kansas, and Fred went to Davis Monthan and he ended up at Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietanam, and I ended up at Takhli RTAFB in Thailand.

When I departed Takhli on Dec 4, 1969, I didn't know Fred was shot down on the 4th of December, otherwise I would have escorted the body back to the States. Fred's wife Marcia called me close to Chistmas in 1969 and I was on leave in Wisconsin already. I felt terrible about that as I knew Fred very well. I never have gotten it behind me about his death.

Fred Siebert was a fine man and I'm proud to say that I knew him. I was a naive young 2nd Lieutenant out of northern Minnesota when I arrived for Air Force flight school in May of 1967. I was basically clueless about the military and what went on, but Fred, who was named our section leader because of his Air Force experience, took his roll seriously and assisted anyone who needed some help in getting through the program. There were great times and frustrating times during that year, but you could always count on Fred to be at the forefront when something had to be done in order to move forward.

I got married while in the program and had a small wedding, but Sheryl and I remember that Fred and Marcia were in attendance. They were a wonderful couple and we spent many hours socializing in the program, and we remember them fondly. After completing training, everyone went to points unknown.

I saw Fred in the Philippines when we were both going through jungle survival school. I had two months left in-country when I went to school, but Fred was enroute to his SEA assignment. We had some nice remembrances during the short time we were there, but then we had to return to our duty stations. I don't know when it was that I heard of Fred's passing, but it took something out of me. A lot of people are described as nice guys, but Fred WAS a nice guy. God bless his memory and those of his family members.

I have known Fred for about 45 years. I was with him at navigator training and nav bomb school 1963-64. We were at Kinchloe AFB together from 1964-68 flying B-52H aircraft.

Fred was an excellent leader and human. He had my complete trust in my dealings with him. He was a superb team player because he cared about others more than himself. I think of him often and use him as a yardstick for measuring other fine men. He shall always be a part of my mind.

From a friend.
E-mail address is not available.

A Note from The Virtual Wall

Captain Siebert was the Mission Commander for a flight of two F-4C fighter aircraft scrambled from the alert pad at Cam Ranh Bay Air Base early in the evening of 1 December 1969. His destination was a confirmed enemy location 125 miles north-northeast of Saigon in the Quang Duc Province near the Bu Prang Special Forces Camp. A Forward Air Controller was in the area to direct his flight in locating the target, however, because there were no flares available to mark the target for the fighters, Captain Siebert's wingman made the first pass, deploying napalm to illuminate the target for the first bombing run. As his wingman pulled out of the target area, Captain Siebert made a radio transmission stating he was rolling in on his first bombing run .

Shortly thereafter, his wingman observed the aircraft burst into a ball of flames as Captain Siebert was turning on approach approximately 2000 meters short of the target between 1000 to 2000 feet AGL. Heavy ground fire was directed at the flight as they rolled in on the target. There were no chutes observed and no contact was made with the crew. Aircraft searched the area throughout the night with no signs of Captain Siebert or his crewmember, Captain Patrick J. Hayes. At first light, search aircraft spotted aircraft wreckage at YU526588, but search teams were unable to reach the site due to hostile forces in the area and the rugged jungle terrain.

On 3 December, a search party located the wreckage and remains of the crew. On 4 December 1969 at 0843Z hours, Captains Siebert and Hayes were listed as Killed in Action. Captain Siebert was laid to rest with full military honors in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana on 13 December 1969.